The Last Nymph
by Twinkie-411
Summary: I finally got over the writers block, but I can make no promise for when to expect Chapter 13. Chapter 12 is finally up, and now that the Fellowship of the ring has found Rogue's secret, she is on the run.
1. She is Back!

There was light. She could see it though her eyelids, but she was too tired yet to open them. She was nearly asleep, nearly awake, but still in the mode where she was floating on air, where there was neither pain, but no pleasure, and not even the knowledge that you're there. Until, of course, after you're awake. She woke completely, her eyes still shut tightly, and felt a stinging pain on her left shoulder. She tried to lift her arm up to feel what it was, but was too weak to even do that, and all she did was twitch her hand. She gave it up, still too tired to open her eyes. Slowly, she let herself drift back into sleep, until the pain was gone, the light was gone, and the world around her disappeared into silent sleep.  
  
Some one nudged her on her left side, and she woke suddenly to a great pain that was still there. She hadn't dreamed it. She opened her eyes fully, and the light flooded in. She squinted, but felt hardly any pain in her eyes, as it was nothing compared to her shoulder. 'Strange', She thought. 'Wasn't I lying on my back earlier?' Her eyes fluttered open, more used to the light now, and she looked around, not daring to move and cause her even more pain then she already was in. It was a brightly lit room with a cool breeze cutting though the thick, humid air. The sheets were uncomfortable and scratchy, and she could tell at once that she wasn't home. The pillars on her left were the only trace of wall, so she was practically outside. They were, however, beautifully detailed. She turned her head slowly and felt the soreness of her neck from sleeping on it badly. She looked to the other side of the room, then nearly jumped of the bed.  
  
"Awake finally, I see. Now hold still.", A deep voice softly rang through the air. She muffled a scream in which she had no idea was from being startled, or from the pain now that was even worse on her back, for the strange man was putting something that felt cold, and stung like fire, on whatever was on her shoulder. Why wasn't she afraid? She had never meet this man before. And yet his voice sounded sorely familiar...  
  
The pain was numbing down to a slight stinging sensation. Her neck still ched, as she tried to lift up her head and turn it around to see who the strange man was. She knew she had heard his voice, if she could only see him she just might be able to-  
  
"Hold still! You're only putting yourself in more pain by moving." His voice rang out clear as day, just as the pain he predicted would come.  
  
"Now, who are you?" He said, but to himself, for she had gone straight into a half hearted sleep. Now he was really getting annoyed. He had no idea who she was, where she was from, nor if she posed any threat to him or his people. Yet he was still put in charge of her care, along with the nasty wound that was swelling on her back. But he too had a strange feeling that he had seen her before He looked at her closely, then moved around to the other side of the bed so he could see her face. As he walked around, he noticed her ears- they weren't humans ears, not hobbit ears, nor elves, nor dwarf, nor anything he had seen before, except...  
  
He gasped, and stumbled backwards. 'It couldn't be!' He thought. He knew when reality hit him, he had to face it, but this topic he had trouble knowing if it was going to happen or if it was just a superstition he had. He knew she would be back, but couldn't bring himself to face. it. Now she was and he hadn't figured out what he would do. 


	2. Who am I?

She woke up yet again, fully rested, yet unusually hungry. She got up, and sat on the bed, looking around and still trying to figure out where she was. She remembered... a strange man. Suddenly she reached over to her left shoulder. 'The pain! It's gone! But I remember it so well, so fully! It couldn't have been a dream...?' her thought trailed off, still trying to remember what had happened. Suddenly it all came back to her. The ugly monsters that were chasing her, her running and hiding for almost a day. She laughed to herself. Her dreams were getting more and more bizarre. She remembered running across an open plain, the things both chasing her she turned around when she didn't hear their loud footsteps, and saw one kneeling with a bow in his hand, but no arrow. She didn't have time to think it through, for a sharp pain had already come in her shoulder, and she collapsed. The last thing she remembered was a faint yell from a nearby man.  
  
She realized that her hand was still resting on her shoulder, but there was no pain whatsoever there. It must have been a dream. No, it couldn't have been. She heard a noise behind her and jumped around, still sitting, but nearly falling off the cot. It was that man again. The one who had put the stuff on her shoulder that healed her. She had never seen his face, but she knew it was him. Where did she remember him from? She stared at him wide eyed, but not afraid.  
  
"Who are you, and where am I?" She choked, surprised at the own sound of her voice. It had changed, it was the same sound, but more bold, more demanding than she meant, and yet seemed to know exactly what it was doing.   
  
  
  
"I am Elrond, and you are in Rivendell. Now, who are you, and where are you from?" He said just as clearly as last he had spoken to her. He already knew the answer, but he just wanted to see if she did. He watched as she turned her head back facing the opposite direction as him and softly declared, "I... don't know."  
  
Sighing deeply he looked at his feet and left. It was true. The memories all came back. His face was paler and more stretched than usual.   
  
  
  
"Wait!" She called, and walked briskly after him. He stopped, and turned his head slightly so that an open ear faced her.  
  
She stumbled slightly, not knowing what to say. "Who-Wha-" She stopped and started rubbing her forehead. Sighing she decided that questions weren't exactly what she was looking for, but she was still dizzy from being so weak and couldn't concentrate on what it really was she wanted.   
  
Elrond turned around and asked,"Are you, by chance, hungry? Being as you haven't eaten for at the least two days, one would consider..."   
  
  
  
That was it. She was hungry. "Yes." She said in another one of her strange voices that was certain of what it was doing. He nearly smiled, for the first time since he lost the one thing that he had loved most. She reminded him of it greatly, yes. The only difference was her thick, brown hair. Other than that, she looked exactly like her mother. 


	3. A Picture is Worth Two Thousand Words

"Let's start with the basics", he said as she studied the food that she was supposed to be eating.  
  
"Hmm. I got a good basic question. What is this?" she asked, picking up the spoon in her bowl and dumping it's contents back into the bowl, letting it splash all over. He took the spoon from her hand and put it back into the bowl and replied "Food, now eat it."  
  
She crinkled her nose, and smelt it, then took a sip and started eating it. "You don't know anything about yourself, where your from, or anything that has happened in the first 15 years of your life, correct?"  
  
"How do u know I'm 15?" she looked at him questioningly.  
  
  
  
"I know your 15, your name is Rogue, and you live... lived in Mordor." He replied. "But all else will have to wait."  
  
  
  
Rogue. That sounded familiar, along with all the other things he was telling her. But how could he know who she was and when she didn't. None of this was making sense.   
  
  
  
"Rogue. That means something. Not a name, but a word." She said aloud, though not directly at Elrond.  
  
He sat there for a second looking puzzled and finally said, "I wish the English language was more descriptive sometimes. It means a rose that shines red... proudly."  
  
"And how do you know all this?" She stared at him determinedly, wanting more information as oppose to the answer to the question. He simply stared ahead blankly, not answering and told her to finish eating.   
  
***  
  
You will know when the time comes. The words rang in her head. Why did he simply refuse to tell her more? It made no sense. None of it did. She walked around the building she was in and studied the statues and monuments that were planted throughout the rooms. She came to this one room where there was a statue of a girl holding a cloth. On the cement cloth lay a shattered sword. She only looked, not wanting to touch it in case it was against a rule, or law, or something of that matter. On the wall to the right of it was a large painting. It took up the entire wall. There was a strange, large, evil looking man who was being attacked by o younger looking man with the shards of a sword. She turned around and looked back at the broken sword and compared it to the one in the picture. It was the same one. There was another man in the painting. He was lying on the rock, dead. He had a crown on. It must have been the king. She studied the picture some more, and ran her hands across it to feel the texture of the paint. She looked back to the middle of the picture with a small gasp. It had changed. When she touched it it changed. She ran her hands across it again, and it changed. Here was more to the picture. She flattened her palm and moved it around the area. There was a face. It was a young girl. Anxiously, she moved her hand more quickly around, revealing the whole figure. Her eyes widened. She knew this girl. It was her. 


	4. The Twist

She was standing there, with a sword, attacking this man as well. Except, on the new version of the picture, the other man lay on the ground, holding the king in his arms, watching.   
  
  
  
She took a few steps back, and nearly ran into the statue. The picture began to fade back to its normal self.  
  
Someone grabbed her by the shoulder, and she jumped forward, and tried to turn around to see who it was but their grip was too tight. She turned her head and saw the outline of a tall man with dark hair and weathered skin. He was wearing a dark green cape, elvish made obviously.   
  
"Let me go!" She yelled, but it was obvious that he wasn't about to do that.  
  
"Do that again." He said slowly, staring at her hard.   
  
"Do what?" She asked, but a stupid question if any. He grabbed her hand, and drug it across the painting and the strange picture showed up, just as it had five seconds ago.   
  
"Who is that? Is it you?" He asked, with a slight threat in his voice.  
  
"I don't know!" After a slight pause she spoke, then realizing his grip had loosened, fought him off and backed away from him towards the picture. He just stood there, staring at first her, then the painting, then back at her. "What do you want! If there was something you needed to know, then you could have asked and didn't have to grab me like that!" she yelled at him, though in a quiet voice, as he was much bigger and stronger than she.  
  
"Do you even know what this is a painting of?" He asked, in a much calmer voice than before.  
  
She turned around and looked at it again, it was back to normal. Turning back she replied, "No.", to the ground, and looked up. "Tell me."  
  
"Do you know who Sauron is?" He asked. That name sounded familiar to her, but she didn't know who exactly it was. She nodded and he continued.  
  
"A long time ago, Lord Sauron cast a dark shadow over these lands. He was unstoppable, and made many great army's. His power lay completely on his ring, a great ring of power forged at Mount Doom." He walked over to the picture, and looking strait at the man with the sword, kept talking. "A great war took place. Many men who resisted the power of the ring were destroyed. Sauron threw aside and killed the King of Gondor. His son, Isildure took his sword," he pointed at the man attacking who was apperantly, now, Sauron- where had she heard that name? "And broke it against his armor. Acting our of panic, he thrashed his sword about, cutting off Sauron's finger, the one that held the Ring of Power, destroying his body, but not himself." He said, finishing up his story. "But," He started up again, her looking at him, "That's, what some say, not what really happened. They say that a girl killed him. A girl with brown hair, bright blue green eyes, and one that carried Opal, one of the greatest swords ever made. There was no proof of this ever happening, and by far no logic in it happening either." He drug his own rough hand over the painting, but nothing happened. He turned around and looked at her, then at the sword she carried. She had gotten it from Elrond, he had said that it was hers. She had no idea what she might need it for, but had excepted it.   
  
"Who are you?" She asked him, realizing that it was a stupid thing to say, for now he would surely ask her the same. The only thing she knew about herself was her name, age, and certain other things that wouldn't help for much.   
  
"I am Aragorn, son or Arothin, heir of Isildure." He replied quickly, but turned around to face her fully slowly. "May I see your sword?" He asked, with no threat in his voice, but it seemed like a demand. She looked down at it, remembering Elrond's words.  
  
"Don't let anyone take this sword, nor touch it. Only few can hold it, without consequences." He had told her. She merely nodded and cautiously accepted it, afraid of whatever consequences he had talked about. Nothing happened, of course.  
  
She looked down at her sword, and pulled it out of its sheath. Staring at it hard, then at him, she held it out, then pulled it back. "Would you rather just look at it, for I fear of what might happen if it were to fall into the wrong hands." She looked at him reproachfully, and he took to her hint. He stared at it for more than a second, until his name was called by whom she thought was Elrond. She quickly, but carefully put her sword back, and sure enough, rounding the corner, was Elrond. She started walking away, with this new bit of information. She didn't know how, or why, but she had figured out one thin, and it wasn't a very reassuring thought. Who ever this Sauron guy was, he was her father. 


	5. Remembering the Past

Rogue sat on a bench overlooking the river that marked the borders of Rivendell. She had much on her mind, but didn't seem to be going anywhere with it all. She had so many questions, it didn't seem she could hold them all in her head. Sauron was her father. Why, then had she killed him? Had she killed him? Yes, she answered that question herself. She remembered doing it. She closed her eyes and tried to get more of her memory back. A vision started forming in her head.  
  
She was walking through a hall, a dark passage, with loud noises all around. Noises of war. There was a light at the end of the stone tunnel, and she walked slowly up to it. Walking through it, she carefully crawled down the slopes of a mountain. She smelled blood, death, and heard the screams and clinking of swords. She got to the top of a small rocky hill, and looked over it. There was a man, her father, throwing down and killing the king. His, son, Isildure ran over to his father's dead body, and looked at Sauron with pure hatred in his eyes. He grabbed his fathers sword, breaking it as he pulled it out from the stones in lay wedged between. She was hurrying down the mountain side now, anger and meaningless life filling her with pure rage. Her father was the one to blame for the every ones suffering, her included. She pulled out her sword and, her knowing his only weakness, cut off the finger that held the Ring of Power. An invisible force came pounding through everyone, destroying all the orcs, and monsters Sauron had created, and destrying Sauron himself. She got up off her feet, and started climbing up the mountain. The climb was brief, no more than ten minutes, and when she got to the top, she realized it was a volcano. Of couse, she knew that.   
  
The volcano was very active, and had a ledge that went out into the middle. She walked to the edge, and looked down into the hot, swarming, black and dark red lava below, just daring herself to jump. She just stood there for a few minutes, a few hours, who knew, who cared. She took a deep breath, and turned around. Gasping, and scared out of her wits, she saw a man halfway through, blocking her exit. It was Elrond. But she didn't know that then. He took a step forward, trying to see who she was. She took a step back, afraid of him, not knowing who he was. Another step, and she tripped. Tumbling backwards, she grabbed onto the first thing she could; the cliff. She thrust her other hand up, screaming as she looked down, felling the heat of the lava hundreds of feet below her burn her face. The man showed his face anxiously over the cliff, and started pulling her up. He lifted her up, and placed her on the other side of him. The exit was now free. She looked at the man with fear, taking a few more steps back from him, and ran.  
  
The memory ended and the smell of smoke, molten rock, and blood vanished into the smells of clean, fresh air. The sounds of war, the screaming and bleeding, then cheering on as vicoty held it's feirce head high disapeared. The sound of running water, and small animals and birds filled her ears with joy, but her heart still remained hollow. The only thing that was explained to her now was that more questions needed to be asked. She yearned for answers, but thought of no one who would give them to her. Elrond certainly would not, he seemed to think that she should 'know when the time comes'. She sighed deeply, then spun around wildly as some one gently tapped her on the shoulder.  
  
It was Elrond. "You startled me." She told him directly, with a slight edge to her voice.  
  
"Come with me." He replied, blankly. He tuned around, and started walking. she hesitantly followed him, not knowing if she was to trust him or not. If he had saved her life, and she still ran from him, there should have been a reason. "Have you, I wonder, started remembering your past yet?" He asked, yanking her off her trail of thought. His voice sounded steady, though he was walking.  
  
"Yes." She answered blankly, trying to be clear she did not want to talk about it. She knew he took to her hint, but asked anyway.  
  
"What, then, have you remembered?" He asked, glancing at her, who was now glaring ahead.  
  
"Who my father is, how he died, and when I first saw you at Mount Doom." She said, stopping as he did. He looked at her with a surprised expression on his face. "Why did I run from you?" She asked, looking at him out of the corner of her eye, not wanting to make eye contact.  
  
He gave her a strange look. "I was hoping you could answer that." He kept walking, both of them in silence. She had no clue about anything now, and felt like her head was going to explode. Five minutes ago she wanted to remember everything. Now she just wanted to forget.   
  
They walked on for no more than a few minutes before they came to a locked door. Elrond went through his chain of keys, and selecting one very old looking one, unlocked the door. She peeked her head inside, and watched his as he walked in, motioning for her to do the same. She went in to find a room filled with small objects, powders, herbs and such. Elrond walked over to one of the walls, and opened a small vault, pulling out what looked like some neatly folded robes, and attached to them small bags of who knew what. He walked over to the table on the side of the room, and lit a torch so there was light near there. Pulling out a chair, he sat on a different one. Guessing the empty chair was for her and sat down. Keeping a blank expression she looked at the things that lay on the stone table.   
  
"These were your mothers once." He said, avoiding eye contact. "I'm sure she would've wanted you to have them."  
  
"Tell me about my mother and father." She said demandingly, and he looked at her with a stare that warned her away, but they both knew she had a right to know these things, so he took a deep breath and began.  
  
"A long time ago, before Sauron, your father, was at full power, he made a decision that most would call pointless, but wiser ones knew was very ingenious. He knew that there was a chance that something may happen to him, that he may come across a warrior that was stronger than he, and be defeated. He decided to have a son, so if that were ever the case, he could resurect himself in his body, and come back to full power. In order for him to come into full power though, he had to not only use one of his blood, but also a pure nymph. He was the last pure male nymph, and your mother was the last known female. He kidnapped her," He stopped to take a breath, and kept talking," And enpregnated her so that he could have a son. When you were born a girl, he killed your mother out of pure rage. That was the stupid thing to do. Now he was left with a girl. But he kept you, for who knows what reasons, and raised you in private so that no one knew of your existance. No one, but I."  
  
"How did you know?" She looked at him, who was once again staring at the wall, but not with the usually meaningless, hollow eyes.   
  
"Your mother knew of her fate before she was died. The night she left she said one thing, the last thing I ever heard from her. 'Don't come after me, and take good care of her.' I had no clue what she was talking about, until I saw you that night on Mount Doom." He replied. Picking up a pouch, and pouring it's contents into his open palm, he continued. "This was one of her favorite things. It has been a family tradition to give this to the one you love, and stay connected with them through it. And to give to your children." He held up a ring, with a beautifully decorated silver band, and a green jewel placed firmly in the middle. She reached her hand out to inspect it more close up, and noticed that he wore one of the same. Silently she decided not to mention it, knowing exactly what it meant. She put the ring on, watching in wonder as it changed it's size to fit her perfectly, and as the green jewel seemed to light up as she wore it. It was beautiful.   
  
"Thanks." She said. He handed her the rest of the things on the table, She took them, and started to look at them, but was torn away from that by the sound of his voice going on.  
  
"You should be able to figure out what the rest of this is. And your past shall reveal itself just as it has already." He looked at her with pity, and started up again. "I will warn you, it won't be a pleasent experience. Enjoy life while you can, for it shall all come back to reality soon. And there is one more thing..." he trailed off thoughtfully. Seeming very amused at some thought he continued. "You will find that out today, I would think." He got up and headed for the door, leaving, and she followed wondering what he was talking about. He locked the room once she had left. "Have fun." He told her, smirking. She just stared at him wondering what was so funny, what was going to happen, and-  
  
She stopped suddenly. Staring strait ahead she held her breath and her hear skipped a beat. There was a giant female tiger standing three feet in front of her. She gasped and took a few steps back, wide eyes and frightened. Her head started spinning again, and she stuttered "She", nervously she tried again. "She..ba.." She said slowly. She had no idea what it meant, but it was the first thing that came to her mind. Her mind deceived her, as the tiger started growling, walking towards her.  
  
Elrond kept walking in the other direction, not a clue what was going on this very second only around the corner. He stopped dead in his tracks as he heard a deathly roar, followed by a high-pitched scream, and looked around curiosly. "Welcome back, Sheba." He said to himself. With that slightly amused look still on his face, he kept walking forward. Letting out a slight chuckle, he went on his way. 


	6. The Journey Begins

Rogue was sitting on the bench overlooking the river again. She didn't know why, it just seemed like a very peaceful, private place to be. She looked over at her new companion, Sheba, who currently was in the form of a kitten curled up at her feet. Elrond had later explained to her that the fierce tiger that had pounced on her just yesterday had also belonged to her mother, and came now that she was back. Sheba was the daughter of Jaden, Lord of all Felines. She could take the form of any type of cat, and now had chosen a more peaceful form then before. She turned around, convinced that Elrond wasn't going to sneak up again, and raised her eyebrows as he came swiftly up to her.  
  
"You must go now." He said hurriedly, rushing her to get up.  
  
"Go where? Why? Now?" She looked at him strangely, but got up anyway.  
  
"You are going to leave here, you will not be safe here. He knows you're here, he will send someone to come get you. You must go with the Fellowship of the Ring." he said, and they started walking, Sheba not far behind.  
  
"The Fellowship of the Ring? Who're they, and where am I going?" She said, practically running to keep up with him.  
  
"They're some of the best fighters I know of, out on a quest to destroy the Ring of Power. You must go with them, I can think of no one better to protect you. Just don't tell them who you're father or mother is. They wouldn't understand." He walked straight back to the room with the lock he had gone into before. Unlocking it, he told her to wait there. He came back quickly, and gave her a small, smooth rock planted loosely on a bracelet. "It's a strange thing, this rock is. Place your thumb right on this little dip in it right here, and it will allow you to contact me. If I wish to contact you, the stone will grow hot, take it out and put your thumb on it. It's strange, but simple enough."  
  
"Where am I going. And I thought the Ring of Power was destroyed!" She nearly yelled at him.  
  
"Unfortunately it was not." He said coldly. "You will go wherever they go, and not leave them for any reason."  
  
"What if they find out who I am, and leave me?" She asked, not trying to sound like she had an attitude, but beginning to feel on coming on. It didn't really sound like the brightest of idea's sending her off with some men she completely didn't know to waltz straight into Mordor.  
  
"Then, contact me", He said, taking her hand and placing the stone bracelet in it. He started walking again, and she started following again. It had become a routine. She didn't say anything more, though her mind was once again overflowing with questions. They walked to a small clearing where a few men were talking in low voices. He introduced them; Aragorn (who she had already met), Gimli son of Gloin, Legolas of the Woodsmen Realm, Gandalf the Grey(Who she had also met), and Boromir from the South. With them were four hobbits, creatures she had heard of, but never met. They're names were Frodo, Samwise, and two who preferred to be called Merry and Pippin, though she knew those weren't their full names. She introduced herself to them nervously, as Elrond pulled Gandalf and Aragorn aside. Rogue strained to hear what Elrond was saying to them, as her ears could pick up sounds from strangely far distances, but they spoke in a language she was only faintly familiar with, and couldn't pick up more than short phrases. None that she could make any sense of, anyway. She smiled faintly at Frodo, who was staring at her, then quickly looked away to a pair of squirrels in a nearby tree chasing each other around, making very loud noises. Sheba walked up behind her, in the shape of a fair sized house cat. She leaped up into Rogue's empty hands, jumping right back out when she caught sight of her new companions. Taking her preferred form of a tiger in mid leap, scaring all of them. The men looked quite frightened as the tiger came up to them starting her own little inspection of each one, and the hobbits took a few steps back. Rogue didn't notice, however, for she had turned around to watch Elrond come back. She dearly wanted to know what was going on, and looked hopefully at him as he got closer. Handing her a small backpack, he quickly explained to them that Rogue was to be to be a member of the Fellowship as well. A few minutes later, Rogue found herself on a trek to who knew where, with a bunch of complete strangers. She fell back, and mumbled to herself, "What next?" Little did she know that she was not only going on a journey that held the fate of the world, but also one of great self discovery. 


	7. On the Way

Rogue walked alongside her new friends, who she had gotten to know quite well now. She found that the hobbits were of best company, though Merry and Pippin were rather annoying. She thought it was pretty funny when they got into arguments about the stupidest things. Sam usually had to break them up. Frodo soon became her favorite of the four, though he seemed to be a little to sensitive towards others. Not that it was a bad thing at the time, but most any person could see where this could, in the future, create difficulties. They were pretty close in age too, as he was thirty three, and(in hobbit years) she was about 30. She laughed as he told her a short joke about a hobbit entering a bar. As they went along, the four hobbits shared of their adventures so far.   
  
A lot of the times, even though they talked in barely a whisper, Rogue would listen to the conversations of the older men. Her ears seemed to be able to pick up noises from nearly a mile away. The ten companions seemed to travel in groups, the older men ahead, then her, Frodo, and Sam, then Merry and Pippin, though some of the time all the hobbits would travel together. She found it quite interesting, and informative, some of the things the older men would say. It was kind of hard to act like she couldn't hear them when she overheard Aragorn telling Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir what he had seen her doing the day she met him, as Gandalf already knew it seemed. Not to mention quite embarrassing as well. The older men always kept a suspicious eye locked on her from then on. The hobbits noticed too, at least Frodo did. He had told her before that Bagginses always had a good knack for noticing things like that. She told him not to worry about it, but soon the story of the painting she had looked at soon spread to the halflings, and Frodo mentioned no more of that subject. He didn't, however, seem to act any differently around her. Sam did, though. Not all that much, but enough for Frodo to glare at him once and awhile.   
  
One of the most amusing things she found on their trip was how Sheba seemed to enjoy sneaking up on people, and pouncing on them. She had tried this on Rogue once or twice, but soon realized that Rogue could too easily figure out she was behind her, and was also very good at fending her off. Aragorn, especially, seemed to draw Sheba's attention. Rogue noticed a pattern eventually. Every time Aragorn said Rogue's name in a private conversation that didn't include her, Sheba would decide she wanted to have some fun. Rogue liked how protective Sheba was, she definitely needed the reassurance. Rogue had to made sure she didn't pounce on any of the hobbits, but Sheba had a mind of her own. Once and a while she would sneak up behind one, mostly Sam, and have a little fun with him as well.   
  
"We should stop here for rest, we shouldn't push on the smaller ones at such a rate, they will get exhausted." Aragorn said to Gandalf in a hushed voice. Sheba picked up her ears to hear what he was talking about, but didn't hear Rogues name, or anything about her. She started growling a low, playful growl, and quickened her pace to catch up with Aragorn, so Rogue pushed her back, trying not to start any trouble. Aragorn put down his bags and supplies, and announced that they would take a short rest for supper, and consider staying there for the night, as the sun was nearly beginning to set. After an hour or so, everyone was settled in, and it was getting dark faster. They had started a fire after deciding to stay, and while the sun was still up, Legolas was trying to teach Rogue how to manage a bow and arrow. She dropped her quiver, letting the arrows fall out of it as they pleased. Legolas gave her a short lived glare, and she picked one that hadn't fallen out. Aiming in as he instructed, she let an arrow fly to the pan that hung off a stick they had planted there. It hit the pot with precise aim, and Legolas stared.  
  
"I thought you were a beginner!" He said looking suspiciously surprised.   
  
"I did too, but I guess not." She said, surprised herself. Taking out another arrow from behind her, she aimed without any help from Legolas, and hit the same place. "I wonder..." She said to herself out loud, and took a few steps back. She kept walking back until she was a good distance away form the pot, more than twice as far as she had been, and aimed, shot, and hit right on again.  
  
"Now your just showing off." Legolas said with a slight smirk. Laughing, Rogue came back over to where the arrows lay scattered on the ground and began to pick them up. Suddenly, Sheba let out a mighty roar, startling every one. Rogue stood bolt strait up, hand going to her sword by pure instinct she didn't even know she had.  
  
"Somethings wrong." She said aloud, in a deep, alert tone. 


	8. The Mountains

Sheba ran back, letting out another mighty roar, and Rogue cried out, "Hide!"  
  
Everyone scattered, hiding under the rocks of the rocky landscape. Sheba climbed to the top of one of the higher rocks which Aragorn, Boromir, and Gandalf had all taken cover under. Legolas and Rogue dived under the same rock, as they were both nearest to it.   
  
"What's happening?", Legolas asked her in barely a whisper.  
  
"Shh. Wraiths." She replied, in even lower a whisper, as these Wraiths, or this one in particular, could hear nearly as well as she could. She waited there a few minutes, listening intently. She emerged when Sheba jumped off the rock she had perched on, and started looking around to spot everyone. When she saw Aragorn, she started running towards him, but Aragorn got out from under the rock too soon for her to get him trapped. Rogue climbed out from under the rocks, everyone else slowly, and cautiously following her example. "Great." She said wearily to everyone as they crept out from their hiding places. "It has a dragon."   
  
They went on their way, for no more than a day or two, until they started getting to a very high, and chilly, part of the mountain. She had noticed an incline, and seen the mountain ahead, but didn't quite think ahead to the point where it would, indeed, be so high that it would be cold. It came to a point after one days of travel on the mountain, that the taller men had to literally to ahead and plow a path through the snow so the halflings could get through. Sheba went ahead as sort of a miniature Siberian tiger, so that she was light enough to walk atop the snow. She came running back, roaring at the top of her lungs, as she was capable of a very strong roar whether in the form of a wild cat or not. Her roar could hardly be heard over the roaring of the snow coming down the mountainside strait at them. Rogue screamed, as Gandalf yelled something she did not make out. Suddenly, the snow covered her, head to foot. She was knocked out by the force of the snow piling onto her, and all faded into blackness.  
  
She woke up awhile later, to find that she had been unburied from the snow, and was being carried on Sheba's back, as Sheba had taken the form of a very large wildcat, called a Fornack, which was a little larger than a pony. When she woke, reality hit her about as hard as the ground did when she fell off Sheba's back. Her head hurt sorely, and she had frostbite on the tips of her awkwardly pointed ears. When she fell, she had made a bit of stir with her fellow companions. They all rushed over to see if she was well or not, for apparently she had blacked out for nearly a day. They had headed back from the mountains, and were to make their way for the mines of Moria, where Gimli had family living.   
  
"OK," She said blinking a little bit form the pain of her headache, and from trying to force this information through her head. "What are the mines of Moria?" She got her answer, a brief description from Gandalf, followed by loud and continued boasting from Gimli.  
  
"You had to get him started." Frodo told her, trying to glare at her, but unable to hold a strait face for long. Sam cracked up as well, then budged into their conversation. They both tried the best they could to answer her questions for what had happened while she had been out. She hardly listened to a thing they were saying, though. Eventually, she fell behind them all, weak as she was, she still had a horrible headache. Soon she found that she collapsed again, so far behind them that they hadn't even noticed she was missing, and awoke yet again to find herself on Sheba's back, who had obtained the form of a Fornack again. As she woke up fuller, she realized that she had not indeed fallen asleep on her back, but was merely resting up against her backside. She still had a great headache. They had come completely left the mountains, and it appeared to be late night, so they must have rested early to avoid entering the mines at night. She blinked a few times, and started listening to the fire crackling behind her. She woke completely, sitting up and saw Frodo, who had been leaning on Sheba's other side, the one facing the fire. She got up, an went over to sit by him, desperately needing the warmth of the fire. She felt it creep up her finger tips, and eventually warming her cheeks to a dull pink, on contrary to the bright red they had been. She looked over at Frodo, who hadn't said a word since she sat down. He apparently was asleep. Well, it was pretty late, she thought, as she looked at the moon in the sky. She nudged him awake, and smiled faintly at him when he looked at her. Her headache was still blinding, but she felt much better now that she was warmed by the dieing fire.   
  
"I was waiting for you to wake up, but I couldn't bring myself to stay up that late." He said after a huge yawn. She smiled faintly again, rather zoned out by the fire. She looked back at him, who now had taken his turn at staring blankly into the fire. She pulled out one of the green-jeweled rings she had in a small pouch Elrond had given her. She studied it, turning it around in her chapped fingers, letting the flames of the fire dance off the gem in the middle.  
  
"That's a pretty ring." Frodo said, watching her intently. She handed it to him, and he studied it as well. "A strange one, too." He said, nearly dropping it when it changed it's size to fit him perfectly. He laughed feeling slightly foolish for being startled so easily, and started handing it back to her.  
  
"No," She said, pushing it back to him. "You keep it. It looks good on you." 


	9. The Mines of Moria

She blinked holding her hand to her head, still fighting the headache that was only slightly slimming down. She was riding on Sheba again, nobody trusted her to walk as the last time they had nearly lost her. She now knew why these headaches were coming so frequently. She was remembering things again. So far, she had figured out that she ran away from Mordor after she had killed her father. Then, after being chased by creatures that only she knew anything about, she had killed herself, so that the Dark Lord could not rise back to full power using her body. She had also figured out that the reason Sauron did not kill her was because, before he could, her mother had put the mark of Haraus on her arm. This mark being on her made it nearly impossible for one of her own blood to kill her, one of her own blood on her fathers side at the least. The mark was an ancient symbol that meant she was in the family of Grenchet, her fathers side. Sauron could not kill her without bringing great pain to the mark that he held on his right arm, as well. She had been sitting on the volcano, trying to surpass the pain herself, after killing her father, when she met Elrond. It was all very confusing. She was resurrected simply because in order to bring the Dark Lord Sauron back to life, you needed a body that was... well... alive.   
  
She had been very quiet lately, and only Gandalf and her knew why. Her memories had overtaken her. She remembered nearly everything, except some emotions she had felt on some occasions. She remembered how she had spent more time training to fight than she did sleep since she was 7. She knew how to work a sword better than any person there with her, and had regained all skills with the bow set. Her favorite still remained the daggers though. She could spin them in her fingers, throw them, and use them for pretty much everything. Her aiming with them was perfect, and she had five, or so, of them placed in her belt.   
  
"We're about to enter the mines of Moria," Gimli started again. "The service is quite excellent, and we should be treated as honored guests!" His Irish accent was now starting to get on everyones nerves. Frodo was walking beside the pony, holding it's reins to steer it along. Rogue had just given him a particularly difficult riddle, and he was having trouble solving it. She was surprised, however, that he had gotten most of her riddles within the first, give or take, three minutes. Sam, however was still working on an easier riddle Frodo had gotten right away. They arrived at the gate to the mines of Moria, and the door was locked. She walked over to a branch that extended way out into the murky waters, and waited while Gandalf tried to open the door. Merry or Pippin, she didn't bother to look at which one it was, was throwing rocks into the water. It was not only annoying, but she sensed danger. Aragorn beat her to telling the hobbit off, so she wasn't as worried as she should have been. She spun around as Gandalf opened the door. They all walked in, and Gandalf lit his staff to shed light across the darkened stone. She didn't need the light, though, she could smell the rotting, stinking bodies that covered the grounds. She left before any of them did, she couldn't stand the smell. She heard their yells, especially Gimli's, as she stood out looking into the lake. She went out to find Sheba, as a tiger, growling, poised, and alert looking into the water. She squinted her eyes, looking closely into the waters. They started rippling.   
  
"Sheba!" She called, "Run! Into the mines!" She was barely whispering, and barely able to move. She walked swiftly back into the tomb, as Aragorn had called it, and not a moment to soon, as everybody was exiting.   
  
"No!" She told them urgently. "You can't go out there, there's something in the water!"   
  
"Are you sure you're feeling OK yet, Rogue?" Boromir asked her, though no real concern was in his voice. This made her angry, so she decided to herself that if they weren't gonna listen to her, then they were just gonna have to pay the price. She knew what she had seen. A few seconds later, they were all screaming. She heard Sam yell, and knew she had to help the hobbits, they were defenseless! She ran out, looking at the giant squid in the water with determination in her eyes. Pulling an arrow out of her quiver, she aimed, and hit a tentacle that was currently grasping either Merry or Pippin, she couldn't see for the squid was thrashing him about wildly. It scream loudly, and started coming out of the water more. Big mistake, for as soon as it's mouth was in clear sight, and the hobbits all safely back on land thanks to Aragorn, Legolas and her let two arrows fly, hitting their mark.   
  
"Show off!" Legolas yelled again over the racket that the creature was now making. He had started to become a little jealous of her skills, as they seemingly surpassed his. She glanced over to see whether he was being sarcastic or not, but his concentration had gone fully into running back into the mines, which were just about to cave in. Covering her head with her hands, trying not to be hit by any flying stones, she frantically ran into the mines with everyone else. After a few minutes of silence, Gandalf lit his staff again, and they started to make their way silently through the abandoned mines. Everyone had made it safely in, and it seemed no one was hurt, not even Merry, Pippin, or Frodo, who all, apparently, had been thrown about by the monster. Gandalf led the way, until they came to a three way crossing, which no one knew the right path. They camped there for the night.  
  
The next morning, Gandalf had figured out which way they were to go. Everyone followed him, and they soon came to an area that they were forced to stop at to listen to Gimli mourn over the tomb of his dead cousin. Gandalf picked up a journal, and read the last passage, but Rogue didn't listen. She walked out to the door, and leaned out it a short ways. She could hear movement. Walking, talking, moving, something living was out there, and not all that far away either. She jumped, and spun wildly around as a loud banging noise echoed in the room behind her. Pippin had knocked the skull of a skeleton into a well. The body of it fell in, followed by some chains, and to top it all off, a large mug. The rattling noise was so loud, that she was sure whatever it is she heard had heard it. Sure enough, only seconds later she heard them coming closer, and alarmingly fast as well. Gandalf started talking after he thought there was no danger, telling Pippin what a fool he was.  
  
"Shh..." Rogue started to say, and everyone in the room stared at her, who was now listening. "They're coming... goblins... and something else, something large." She whispered. A few seconds later, she had stepped inside the door as the goblins had come within the rest of their hearing range, also. Boromir looked strait at her and spoke as if to answer a questions she had not yet asked.  
  
"They have a cave troll." He said sarcastically. She glared at him, then pulled out her sword, letting it wave near his face for a second, making it look like an accident. Everyone started backing up, except Rogue, who had found a very nice hiding place behind a pillar right next to the door. Perfect for jumping out and surprising them. They busted a hole in the door, and Legolas started to shoot arrows through it. Gandalf and Aragorn were protecting the halflings, and Boromir was helping Legolas. Gimli was standing atop the grave of his cousin, wielding his ax like a madman. The door busted down in a shower of wood chips, and the goblins came rushing in. Rogue jumped out from behind the pillar, and started slashing her sword about, killing all the goblins it could touch. Wiping her sword off on a goblin it had just slain, she put it back in it's sheath. Flipping them around between her fingers, she pulled out two of her daggers. She let them fly, killing two goblins by the throat. She ran back over to them, punching a goblin in the face, then massaging the bruise she knew she would later have from it's earrings, and grabbed her daggers back from the dead goblins. The goblin she had punched came after her, obviously very angry, so she did a high kick, jamming the bone in it's nose into its small brain. Then the cave troll came.   
  
Soon enough, the cave troll was dead, and Frodo was luckily, alive, after taking a blow that would have killed him, if not for the Mithril he wore underneath his shirt. They ran, though it all seemed quite hopeless, for goblins were closing in on all four sides. They quickly became cornered, but a terrible noise, and smell, was closing in on them also. The goblins ran, scattered, as something started coming out of a corner. Fire, it seemed, fire on legs that was walking strait for them.   
  
"Run!" Gandalf yelled, for everyone was just standing there stupidly looking at it like it was about to invite them over for tea. They ran, and came to stairs. One wrong step, and it was sure death.   
  
"Make for the bridge." Gandalf told Aragorn. Rogue looked around, saw the bridge, and started running, her companions right behind her. She let Aragorn take the lead, and spun her head around. The creature was now rounding the corner. The staircase to the bridge was broken in the middle, but after a short struggle, everyone was across. The creature payed no heed to the now impossible to get across staircase, but Gandalf was there to stop him. The rest of the bridge collapsed as he walked across it, and he fell down, down to who knows where. Gandalf turned around, and started to usher them out. Suddenly, the creature whipped it's weapon of fire, grabbing Gandalf by the leg and pulling him down. He fell down the edge, but not before calling, "Fly you fools!"   
  
Frodo cried out, Boromir holding him back. They all knew what had happened. Gandalf was almost certainly dead.  
  
They started running out, as the goblins were now coming back shooting arrows. Once they were safely out, they took a break by the mountainside. The hobbits mourned the death of their dear friend. She didn't even know him all that well, but Rogue sat on a rock, unable to keep the tears back, and buried her face in her hands. 


	10. The Truth is Told

"We must go on," said a voice she heard muffled through her hands and hair covering her ears. "By nightfall, these hills will be swarming with goblins." Rogue recognized the voice as Aragorns. She looked up, wiped her face, and combed her hands through her hair to smoothen her tangles. She pitied Frodo and Sam, especially Frodo, who had had a pretty close relationship with Gandalf. But something told her that Gandalf was still alive. It was impossible, but she let the feeling of hope take over the grief that weigh down her heart.   
  
They moved on, and sure enough, by sunset when they rested, she heard the distant calls of goblins far behind them. She lay on the ground, with Sheba curled up by her side. No one slept soundly that night. The thought of losing such a good friend had made all their night restless. She sighed to herself, and took another try at sleeping. She drifted off after a few hours, but the small amount of sleep she got overall made it almost seem not worth it. They wandered on, and into a spaced out forest where all the tree's seemed to be the same exact kind. She sensed motion all around them, there were things, elves, watching their every move.   
  
"They say an enchantress lives in these woods." Gimli started to say. "A powerful sort, one look at her and you'll be caught in her trance." These seemed extremely wise words for Gimli to say, as most of everything he said proceeded or was followed by- "But don't worry, lads. I'll protect you. I've got the eyes of a hawk, and the ears of a fox-" An elf, she had seen before, appeared in front of Gimli, holding an arrow to his face.   
  
"The dwarf breathes so loud," He started, watching them all put their hands up, "I could have shot him in the dark." Rogue couldn't help a small laugh, even though it was a serious situation. "The Lady of the Wood foretold your coming." He said, eyeing the girl. "But she said nothing of a tenth companion, or of a girl." She stepped back, wiping all proof of the slightest smile off her face. They were taken to the Enchantress of the forest. She looked solemn, but young and beautiful. Rogue could tell by first sight that she was not young at all, and was probably more than a couple thousand years of age. The Lady looked at Rogue for more than a few seconds, Rogue trying to keep a straight face, and look proper.   
  
"Daughter of Sauron, what is your business here?" She said. 


	11. On the Run

Rogue looked around helplessly to see how the others had taken to the news. Legolas and Boromir were staring at her wide eyed, and Gimli just looked plain shocked. Sam, Merry, and Pippin looked mortified, and words cannot express what concoction of emotions were on Frodo's face.  
  
"How is this possible? She could not be the Dark Lords daughter." Aragorn said. He looked at her, trying to be calm and keeping a straight face, but saw Rogue's bowed head, and knew it was true. He was about to say something more, but couldn't draw any words from his head. Nobody stopped Rogue as she stumbled, and ran out. The guards made some sudden movements, but the Lady of the Wood motioned for them to let her go. No one spoke for a few minutes. The silence was awkward. The daughter of Sauron had been walking amongst them for a week or so now.  
  
Rogue ran. She could think of nothing else to do. There was no possibility of staying, but no point in running any further. Once she had traveled far enough where they would not be able to catch her even if they wanted to, she slowed her pace down to a steady walk. Now what. She was alone, had nowhere to sleep, no food, no fire, and only a pack on her back. 'Wait,' She thought. 'I have food. A small amount, and can sleep on the ground...' but her thoughts trailed away from what was to become of her for the night. The only thing she could think about was how no one was going to trust her, ever. She would continue running like this for the rest of her life. Soon enough, everyone would know of her secret. She would be alone. But why, if it was so bad of a thing, did Elrond trust her? It was because he knew that she hated her father, if anything, more than the next person. She had more of a reason than most, as well. He had killed her mother, given her a life equal to slavery, and brought her into this world without love, without hope, and without any proper reason to live. She might as well just kill herself right now. But she didn't. She didn't fear death, but she didn't really fear anything except living the life that she was just about to begin. One where she would have to live in the shadows. She looked at the sky. It was getting dark, she had been walking for hours. The clouds on the west horizon were a bright, magnificent orange. One the east, the clouds gathered into dark purple stains. It was like the sky was bruised.  
  
She settled down by the side of a river, and set up what of a camp she could manage. She stars were shining bright, and she saw no chance of rain for this night. Ripping off a piece of flammable dark material, she hopelessly tried with flint and steel to start a fire. Giving up, she went searching through her pack for something useful. Grumbling, she pulled out some matches, feeling angry she had wasted time and energy over something so easy. She started the fire, then realized that she would need more wood if she were to keep it for more than an hour. She piled on what wood she had, and went rummaging. All the while the simple fact that her future did not seem more bright than her way through the forest laid in her mind.  
  
She slept reasonably that night. Better than she had expected, in the least. She sat up. The fire had died overnight. There was hardly any dew on the ground, and she guessed that most of it had soaked in to the hard, dirt ground. She started cleaning up her camp. There wasn't much to clean, so the only thing she really had to do was contact Elrond. She had left the bracelet in her other pack, which was with the Fellowship. She sighed. Looking around, for the first time she noticed Sheba wasn't there with her. That was strange. Thinking back, Sheba hadn't been there all night either. Sheba hadn't even followed her. This was very confusing. She had thought that Sheba would've followed her. She listened closely. There was something in the bushes that bordered the forest and the riverbed. Hopefully, she went to see what was in them. Maybe it was Sheba. A few steps, and something small, feathery, and definitely not Sheba came out at her.  
  
It was a bird. A canary at first sight, but a closer look, and she couldn't tell if it was a canary or not. It flew up to her, which was extremely odd, for most birds would fly away. It hopped closer, until it seemed to be close enough for her to see it was a canary, and close enough for it to see Rogue. As soon as the bird realized this, it flew directly up to her, and fluttered in her face until Rogue had nerve enough to put her hand out to swap it away. The bird landed on her arm, and stretched out one of its little legs, showing her something attached to it. At first, Rogue thought it was asking for her to pull a thorn or something off its leg, but then noticed it was some sort of a message. She took the thing off it's leg, and it flew into a tree, and started cleaning itself. For awhile, Rogue watched it in the tree, but then realized she was holding a message, and started trying to figure out how to open it.  
  
It was very small, nothing that a canary couldn't hold on its scrawny legs. She found that it was a scroll, wrapped up in a protective casing. She pulled it out to reveal a thin piece of paper that one sentence in a different language. For the next hour she translated it, and found that it was quite clever to use this language, as after translating it, it turned out to be more than just a sentence. More like a paragraph. It was Elrond, asking why she wasn't answering him(through the bracelets), and if she knew why Gandalf wasn't answering him either. She took out a thinned piece of coal, and on the back side started writing back. She told him that her companions had found out, and Gandalf was gone. She couldn't write in that language, and could barely read it, so she had to shorten her sentences, and write very small, for she could hardly fit much. As she folded it up, the canary came back down from the tree, and waited patiently while she attached the message to it's leg. Watching it fly away, she wondered what would become of the news that she sent him.  
  
She sat there quietly, for no more than a half hour, before she started hearing noises. She pressed her ear down to the ground, and heard a definite traveling of a large amount of something. It was far away, though, probably more than two hours travel. She wasn't to worried about it, she could simply climb a tree, and nothing would notice her. She was very good at climbing, she had discovered. Swinging from limb to limb, she climbed up higher on a tree she thought looked like a reasonable high one. It was on the edge to the river, so she could see if there was any traveling from the river. She squinted. Down the river there was a pair of boats, Elvish made apparently, and there were travelers in them. It looked like there were three or four at first, but when they got closer she saw it was the Fellowship.  
  
At first she thought she should leave. But in the distance, the other direction, she could see the outline of something coming...  
  
She decided to follow them, to make sure nothing happened. She knew now that whatever was coming was after them, but didn't want to be seen. She hoped they wouldn't catch her if she stayed hidden, she would just follow them as they went down river. Of course, soon enough, they came onto land. She still stayed far enough away for them to not have a chance to see her, unless they knew she was there. She did admit, they looked around quite a lot, especially Legolas, but showed no signs of catching sight of her.  
  
She sat high, close to the top, of a tree nearby where everyone else was. She saw the movement of what looked like over sized goblins. She couldn't see under the tree's, and her ears told her more than her eyes did. She looked away, towards the river again. Turning back, disturbed by a noise that wasn't as far as the mysterious things in the woods, nor as close as the eight companions, she watched Frodo wander off by himself. This wasn't right. Frodo, the ring bearer, shouldn't go off by himself. She waited until he was far enough for her to follow him so he wouldn't be able to hear her. He went to a landmark that was somewhat familiar to him, but she couldn't quite remember the name. It was just before she got there that she realized that she, too, was being followed. Jumping up into the nearest tree, and waiting in the midst of its branches, she watched Boromir following Frodo.   
  
She left, thinking that Frodo would be safe with one other with him. She soon found that the things she had heard before were making excellent pace, much better than she had first calculated, and were nearly there. Looking around calmly, she found another tree to climb(it had become a habit) and soon found one. Scampering up it, she took a quick look around, and saw a Lurtz leading a large group of two dozen or so. She knew this meant trouble as soon as she saw its face- with the white hand of Saruman. Leaping to the ground, and looking around to make sure no one was watching, she ran towards the group of invaders. Once they were in sight, she knelt down on one knee, and trying to stay out of sight, brought down three or four of them, up until they spotted her. She fended herself for a few minutes, until the Lurtz, which was the leader, called them to a different place, straight towards Frodo!  
  
She saw Frodo running, not to far away, and the pack of wild, ugly monsters chasing him. Running as fast as she could through the thin, but difficult forest floor. Jumping over a root, she ran after Frodo, using her sword to block any arrows that flew past her, but needing to dodge most anyway. Frodo wasn't running fast enough, so she distracted them while he ran. She wondered if he had even seen her running behind him, but was quickly torn off the subject as an arrow came ripping past her. If she hadn't dodged it in time, it would have been a perfect death.   
  
"I really have to stop doing that." She said to no one in particular, cursing herself for pondering about unimportant things in the face of danger. She drew her sword, just as the creatures surrounded her. She could not remember the names of these creatures, they had not been around all that much when she was growing up. She saw Aragorn coming up behind them, along with Legolas and knew that they could hold them off. Leaving before being spotted, she ran in the direction Frodo was going. She saw him by the river, looking like the end of the world had already come.  
  
She knew of the powers that ring he carried possessed. She guessed that Boromir or Aragorn had tried to take the ring, and now he was leaving. If someone had tried to take it, she knew that it would only be best for him to leave, and immediately. Suddenly she found herself searching her neck for a whistle that hung there with a leather strap. Finding it, She blew it, though heard no noise. This was to call Sheba. Looking around, Rogue saw no signs of her feline friend, but knew she had to go to Frodo soon, for he was just about to leave.  
  
"Frodo!" She yelled, bursting through the trees, just in time to stop him from getting in the boat. "Wait!" He just stood there looking at her with no fear, but not knowing what to do.  
  
"Rogue." Was all he could muster.   
  
"I know you have to leave, and you have to go now," She said hurriedly "But where do you plan to go?" He looked at her, dumbfounded.  
  
"Mordor. Where else?" He replied quickly, but now looking back onto the obvious, found it quite hard to believe. She looked at the ground, not knowing what to do. He couldn't go by himself, that would ensure not only his death, but the doom of Middle Earth. Sheba appeared behind her, in the shape of her usual tiger, and she had an idea.  
  
"Take Sheba." Rogue said looking at him to see if he would accept. He nodded, so she turned around and started muttering instructions to Sheba in a strange form of Elvish. In the distance, they heard an ear-shattering horn blow. Boromir was in trouble. Turning back to Frodo, she gave him a worried look. Leaning forward, she kissed him on the cheek, wishing him good luck. By the time he came to his senses, she was already bolting in the direction of the horn, and past the border of the forest. He stood there for a few moments, utterly shocked. His deep thoughts were shattered, as Sam's voice called through the air. 


	12. Helping Stranger, or Hurting Stranger?

She left Frodo by the river, wishing sorely she could have gone with him, but, being able to list more important reasons on why she shouldn't than why she should, she left him with Sheba. She ran uphill, towards where she had heard the horn of Gondor blowing. Jumping over roots, logs, and clumps of leaves that she didn't know what was under, she made her way through the thin forest. Soon she saw Aragorn, Legolas, and Boromir surrounded by the intruders. Gimli was on the side attacking them fearlessly. Or stupidly. Either one, he wasn't the brightest of the bunch. Still trying not to be spotted, she went behind a fairly wide tree, which there weren't very many of in this forest. Not seeing Boromir's injuries, she thought that they were holding off the creatures just fine by themselves.   
  
They didn't need her help, and she was off again, running, jumping, and falling through the forest after the shrieks from Merry and Pippin. Apparently they had gotten themselves captured. Not unexpected, she thought dryly. They ran surprisingly fast for their large stature. Normally, they would have been made for strength, and not for speed. They had to have one weakness, she hoped helplessly. A few minutes of pursuing them, and definitely not pacing herself, she had to stop, panting. She wasn't trained for speed either. 'Years and years of training' She thought, 'And those senseless elves couldn't train me to run.' (Note: Her father made the elves and dwarves train her, she only met her father himself twice.) She had been closing in on them, but slowly, and now they were running way ahead. She leaned up against a tree to catch her breath, watching with pity, as they carried the struggling halflings away. Thumping her head against the tree, she was about to give up. She started off again, but knew it was hopeless, for she could hardly even hear them anymore.   
  
"If only I had Sheba!" She scolded herself. But she would have given up Sheba to Frodo a thousand times. Two inexperienced hobbit, with or without a fierce tiger, stood no chance in Mordor. At least she could keep in touch. She had ways of communicating with Sheba. The bond between her mothers family, and that feline family went way back.  
  
She had been running, jogging, and walking for hours now, and her lungs hurt. At least the open plains were reasonable for running. Imagining the mountains, she started feeling grateful. She was losing speed, and she sensed people behind her. She heard them. Their shouts of 'Keep up!' and 'Don't stop!' could be heard every few minutes. They seemed to be following her, or the hobbits. She suspected it was Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, and Gimli, and sure enough, they caught up close enough for her to recognize the voices. It was dark now, and this only proved that what she was doing was completely useless. She figured that she could hide, and let her ex-companions pass. They would eventually catch up, and she didn't want it to be daylight when they did. She found a small, rocky flat, and decided that she would sleep for the night, think about what was to be done, and get up early in the morning.   
  
A little over a half hour later, she hid herself behind the rocks, and watched silently as the Fellowship passed. She looked closely, and noticed that there were only three. Boromir was missing. 'Hopefully he went to get help, or horses.' She thought, dreading what else could have happened.   
  
She lie down sleeplessly that night. Her body rested, the aching bones from running hurt less, but her eyes didn't even doze. Morning came, but she didn't get up. She was to tired. But she wasn't about to go to sleep any time soon. Eventually, at what she predicted was nine o'clock or so, she forced herself up. She then went exploring to try to find something that might be somewhat helpful. If she couldn't catch up by speed, she would try to by brains! There were forests nearby, and she was happy of that, but it didn't seem to help much with what she needed to get done. A faint whinny could be heard, but even with her superb hearing, it was very faint. For all she knew, it could just be an animal deep in the forests. But it ha come from the grassy plains on the other side. It was worth a try. She went out in search of the horse that she had heard. Maybe there was a rider that would help her. Hopefully not a pack of wild horses. She knew little about wild horses, only tame ones. Or, maybe, a town. Yes, a town. That would be nice. She was drifting off, not thinking quite straight.   
  
Walking, still to tired to run, she got around a curve of the forest, and spotted the horse. There were two horses, she eventually picked out. But she only heard one rider. This could be good. If there were two horses, maybe the rider would let her ride one. She didn't get her hopes up. People weren't that nice. But it was a good deal of positive thinking that she did, knowing the exact chances of them actually happening. Most of it had a sarcastic tone, even in her head.   
  
The plains she walked on were bordered by the forest, and scattered with groups of rocks. It was pretty easy to pick out the rider once he was in better sight. She still walked around the borders of the forest, though the rider was coming from an angle towards her. Sure enough, he had two horses and traveled alone. Strangely, the second horse didn't even carry any packages. It didn't even have a saddle, she noticed once she got close enough. 'A few more minutes of walking,' She thought, 'And I can see him.' b But before the mysterious rider got close enough for her to recognize, he turned around started leaving.   
  
"Wait!" She called, but he was already galloping at his full in the opposite direction. She looked at him like he was a maniac, even though he couldn't see her face. He had left his second horse. Strangely, he had left it to trot towards her. She was so confused now, she was about to turn around and call it all a mirage. But it seemed so real. And she was so desperate. Who the heck was this guy? She started jogging towards the horse, hoping it wouldn't run away, because if this person didn't want it, she sure did! The horse kept going straight for her, even looking straight at her. She stopped dead in her tracks when it was only a few yards away. Suddenly realizing that the horse could have been sent to attack her, she backed up a few steps. She should have thought this through more. The horse kept going right at her, but not threateningly. It had slowed down to a walk now, and stopped a few feet in front of her. She recognized the horse. It had a cream colored mane, that matched the cream-colored spots that appeared on its fur. Blotting, and blending with the cream was a light brown, about the same color, maybe a little lighter, as the softer sand that ran along the river she slept at just the day before. Cautiously, she reached out to touch the horse on its half cream, half brown face. It closed its eyes, and moved a few steps closer, accepting and enjoying the praise. Now she was smiling widely. Chuckling to herself, she pulled its head closer, and whispered softly to herself.  
  
"Elrond."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Around the horses neck was a light, and weak, piece of twine with a small scroll tied to it. Pulling it off easily, she unrolled the message, and read the few word that were addressed to her:  
  
His name is Diame. Take care of him, along with yourself. Best of wishes, Elrond  
  
Well, she was glad to finally know this horses name. She had been wondering when she had seen in in the stables at Rivendell.   
  
She could hardly recognize his signature, for not only was it written, of course, like a normal signature was(which sometimes became difficult) but it was written in a form of Elvish. She was familiar with the language, but it still would have been helpful if it were English, or a different form of elvish she knew as her first language. Either way, she knew it was Elrond. But what puzzled her wasn't how he managed to find her, how he managed to get that far in such a short time, or how he knew she would need a horse. It was how he rode away as soon as he was close enough for the horse to see her. Her heart sank as she thought about this. Maybe he was busy. He might have other things to do. He might have needed to find out what happened to Gandalf! But if he wanted to know what happened to Gandalf, he could have just asked Rogue. Maybe it wasn't him. No, this thought was canceled out immediately, for she recognized the signature as saying 'Elrond'. Sure, she didn't recognize it as his signature, she had never seen it so she couldn't make that judgment. Maybe it was an enemy trying to trick her into thinking the horse was friendly, and had fled before she could recognize him. No, she just plain knew it was Elrond's. She had seen that horse in the stables. It had been her favorite. She sighed, letting her worst fear, but her most likely idea embrace her. At the moment, he was the only one that seemed to... well, not hate her. Or at least he was the only one that seemed to trust her. Opening a package of grain she found strapped along Diame's side, she let him eat a small handful of grain from her. Maybe, she thought sullenly, he wanted to help her, but didn't want to get close to her. Didn't want to see her. Didn't want her to see him. Maybe, he was afraid of her, too.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Note: In order to understand how bad the situation is, you first need to understand how much Elrond really means to her. Let me just point out a few facts, in case you don't. The ring she gave to Frodo was to be given by the women in her family to the men they loved. Elrond wears one of these rings, and if you didn't notice, he's not a girl! (lol) So... she thinks that that he is her step-father. (Technically, he isn't, but they eventually get the facts straight and say he is anyway, since he acts like on to her.) She has no friends, she has no family, and no one trusts her. She has practically nothing, except Sheba and Frodo, who we can cancel out since they are going to Mordor. And now she believes that Elrond, the only person that trusts her, and doesn't hate her, is afraid of her. 


End file.
